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U.K. Box Office: 'The Martian' Lands Ridley Scott's Biggest Opening

The sci-fi film also became the biggest U.K. opening for a Matt Damon title.

The Martian has topped Alien, Blade Runner, Gladiator and Hannibal to give Ridley Scott his biggest-ever opening at the U.K. box office.

The director's latest space epic took $10.2m from 1,378 screens, making it also the biggest U.K. opening for a Matt Damon-starring film.

Scott's achievement ended Working Title's two-week hold on the first and second positions, with the U.K. production house's Everest (with Universal) slipping from first to third with $1.3 million for a 17-day total of $13.2 million.

The Tom Hardy-starring crime biopic Legend held on to number two, taking a further $1.6 million for a four-week tally of $23.3 million, making it StudioCanal's third-biggest U.K. release of all time, behind Paddington ($57.5 million) and The Imitation Game ($24.9 million).

The Intern narrowly managed to pip Macbeth for the crown of second-highest new entry, taking $1.15 million, compared with $1.13 million.

In sixth place, Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials closed in on the original film's $13.5 million, taking an extra $900,000 for a four-week total of $12 million.

Inside Out clung to the last spot in the top 10 after 11 weeks for a gross of $57.8 million.